In This Corner….
The Washington Post describes what had to be an extremely awkward dinner party despite all the protestations of mutual admiration. Ted "I think I'll swim home and catch a nap" Kennedy hosting his good pals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama along with some other people who know darn well they don't matter in this fight.
On Wednesday night, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy hosted the nine Democratic members of his health and education committee at an intimate dinner in his home in Washington's Kalorama neighborhood. The surroundings were stylish, the food home-cooked and tasty.
And then there was the entertainment.
The gathering included a former presidential candidate, Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa, and a close friend of Kennedy's, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd of Connecticut. But the star attractions were Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois, two junior committee members who may be duking it out for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination in a matter of months.
The air was thick with ambition. "I don't know why we're here, Bernie," Rep. Sherrod Brown (Ohio) quipped to a fellow senator-elect, Rep. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), as the guests walked into the dining room.
Neither Clinton nor Obama has formally declared a candidacy, but their rivalry is already the talk of the chamber, an amusing sideshow for Democrats and Republicans — at least the handful who aren't weighing their own White House bids.
Kennedy (Mass.) tried not to play favorites on Wednesday, seating the two superstars on his right and left at dinner. But the dais of his committee will be another matter next year, after Obama joins the panel in January: According to seniority rules, the two are likely to be seated next to each other, toward the end. There they will vie for prominence on major issues such as stem cell research, the minimum wage and college tuition subsidies.
This really will be an amusing two years in some ways. The spectacle of these two trying to upstage one another will be entertaining. Hillary has serious baggage, Obama has a serious lack of credentials. Let the games begin.
By gag non, Friday, 8 December , 2006 @ 11:30 am
The picture is gross. It reminds me of what was probably going on with Rice and Bush at the mansion………..Bama?………….two people trying to pull something off that just isn’t working.
Maybe Bama can trade that wierd Peae Corps trip thing to Haiti or wherever with Dodd or something.
Sorry Ted, just gross.